Hiccup's Stress
by DaydreamingOnPaper
Summary: When Astrid finds a broken Hiccup, she gets to the bottom of things...and what she finds is unexpected. Can she convince him that everything will be okay, or will he shatter under the pressure? RATED T JUST TO BE SAFE...I don't own the original cover image, only edited it (credit to Dreamworks, I own NOTHINGGG so thanks) [Definitely Hiccstrid in this, post HTTYD 2, first fic ever]
1. Astrid's Concern

**This is my first fic ever, as well as my first HTTYD fic to please just hang in there… (NOTE: I don't own the characters, and the story is for entertainment purposes only)**

**Timeline: Shortly after the second movie, third person POV**

**Enjoy!**

"Hiccup!" Astrid called, running into his house. Hiccup's house…Every now and then, it would occur just how much he had inherited after- after the battle of Drago. It still hurt her to think about.

Not paying attention to where she was going, Astrid bumped into his mom. Valka looked curious, but not at all shocked; she was used to the fact that the excited girl shouldn't be questioned, and Thor forbid if anyone ever tried to get in the way of Astrid seeing the chief. At the lack of a response, she simply shrugged and walked away, leaving Astrid extremely thankful that she didn't have to slow down for interrogation today.

"Hiccup! Open the door!" she yelled upon reaching his room. "You're not gonna believe this; Ruffnut found-" Astrid stopped suddenly. When she entered the room, not even careful enough to knock, she discovered something she would have preferred never having to face. Hiccup had clearly tried to stat his day early, and was sitting at his desk with a pencil in hand and invention blueprints were spread everywhere. Only, he had clearly fallen asleep. She couldn't blame him, it was common knowledge the past months after the battle of the Bewilderbeast had messed up his usual schedule and he hadn't had as much personal time as he clearly needed. She slowly crept in, making sure not to wake him; this took every ounce of patience she had, since she had been so eager to tell him about the hideout Ruff had found earlier that day. To pass her time, rather than just sit down on his bed until he woke, she decided to get a head start on looking through all of his inventions. Hiccup had always ran the ideas by her first, but being chief meant he had had to delay her approvals. A sharp pain tugged at her heart as she saw that he hadn't even had the leisure time to create new pieces to forge. He was too busy.

Turning away from the disappointing scene, Astrid finally got a close look at Hiccup's face. The dark circles expanding from beneath his eyes weren't a new sight, though still sad to see; however, the obvious dampness made it hard to stand. She wasn't sure how long, or why, but he had been crying. Her Hiccup. As if on command, she could see him slowly start to cringe in his slumber. Torment filled the usually handsome, but geeky, face. Astrid could almost feel the terrors inside his head leaking out into the room. It was too much to bear for much longer.

Coming closer, she began to stroke his unruly hair, slowly twisting a new braid into the side of his head. Only then did she really start to take in how much older he had gotten, all in the matter of a few months. She stopped, gasping, as she found the final straw. It couldn't be, could it? Hiccup, in the one week that she hadn't seen him so closely, had gotten gray hairs.

Without missing another beat, Hiccup started to shake, tears streaming. The sight terrified Astrid; such a strong and independent young man in such a weak state. Not just any man, but hers. Tears began to fill her own eyes, as he mumbled something she couldn't quite hear.

"Hiccup…" she whispered, instinctively sending a hand towards his shoulder. She stopped short, however, when she finally understood what he was saying. She had assumed that the terrors were of his new, sudden position as the tribe's leader, or perhaps from the loss of his father. Rather, though, the frightened man was fretting over…her?

"Astr…List'n o'me…I h've a feelin'…I can't be what you need…go 'n'see Gothi…_please…_"

Astrid, now with a steady stream flowing from her blue eyes, wasn't sure what her love could be rambling about. On their wedding night, only months prior, he had said similar words, promising to be whatever she needed before him own needs. But what was this about Gothi? Was Hiccup sick, or did he think she was? She shook Hiccup awake, finally deciding she could watch no more, quickly leaving the room so as he wouldn't be confused and ask questions. Ruff's discovery could wait; she needed to fix Hiccup.

Landing on the high hill sporting Gothi's isolated hut, Astrid was frantic to get to the old woman. She needed quick answers, though she wasn't sure that's what would be provided.

Uncharacteristically, the old woman seemed almost surprised to see Astrid. She quickly ran about, collecting her stick to translate into the sand what the distraught girl evidently needed to hear.

Taking one look at the ground, Astrid's heart did a leap and she hurriedly thanked the old woman.

**Sorry for the long chapter…Reviews are definitely appreciated from a noob like me, so make sure to leave some at the end of the fic. Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue if you liked it!**


	2. An Appointment

**This one has a lot more dialogue…Personally I think the interactions seem a bit out of character, but I hope this at least sparks something in your mind to go off of.**

Astrid felt like she was flying, and that was only partially due to the fact that she'd taken Stormfly for a ride. She couldn't wait to tell Hiccup what Gothi had said…but did he already know? Maybe he wasn't as excited as she was about all this. _Or maybe_, thought her sensible side, _he's just being a nervous old goof and has no idea what's going on._ Either way, she wanted to make the official reveal special; It isn't every day that you find out your carrying the chief's heir!

Astrid did a quick loop around Berk, looking for the perfect spot to bring Hiccup. However, she quickly found she couldn't think straight; she would just have to have Hiccup pick a place. She laughed at how ridiculous that sounded, but with her brain moving at the speed of a racing dragon she knew it was her best bet.

Hiccup had resumed his projects and was just working on what appeared to be a new hut when Astrid walked in. Her husband quickly tucked away the prints,; whether to give her all his attention or to hide the plans she didn't care.

"Hiccup, I have some big news for you," Astrid claimed with lights flashing behind her eyes.

"Let's hear it, m'lady," he said in an optimistic, yet still defeated and tired tone. He only hoped it would be some miracle to fix everything.

"Not yet, we have to be somewhere special!" Astrid was determined to bring the news in the happiest atmosphere possible. "Where can we meet that'll be special to you?"

The question surprised Hiccup; he couldn't remember the last time he had done something for anyone but himself. He was a good chief, as far as the term can apply, but he had to sacrifice most of his efforts for others to be so. In fact, he'd had to "lend" his best friend, Toothless, to the dragon academy so they could train and so the reptile could his exercise, instead of exploring like in the past. Everyone knew that they were still the town's true dynamic duo, but they weren't quite as inseparable as before. Hiccup removed the unpleasant truth from his mind, feeling the guilt settle in slowly as always, and tried to think of the most pleasant place possible where they wouldn't be disturbed. It hit him suddenly that now would be the perfect place to reveal his present to Astrid.

"Can you meet me in front of my dad's statue…?" he tried to ask nonchalantly. The chances were that she or one of his other friends had already found his secret room, but he figured he'd ask just in case.

"Sure…that reminds me, Ruffnut found a room behind his boot! Is…is that where you were going to take me…?" Astrid felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of possibly having stumbled upon one of his many gifts to her before the right time.

"Bingo." Hiccup replied, seemingly undaunted. "Meet me there and I'll tell you what it's for…then, you can tell me what seems to be making you want to explode." He joked. It seemed the only thing truly "Hiccup" that he did nowadays, with so much on his hands.


	3. Short-Term Joy

**Thanks so much for the reviews so far! They're better than I could've expected…I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

Hiccup met his wife at the statue, as planned, and together they began to enter through the almost completely hidden entry by the boot. Once inside, Astrid couldn't help but once again be taken aback by the spacious area.

"It's for us, y'know…" Hiccup broke the intense silence, staring sheepishly at the floor. "I knew how weird it was to be living in different huts, so I figured we could use our own place…"

Astrid couldn't find the words. The fact that he'd gone through with something so big, and in secrecy no less, just to please her? It quickly dawned on her, though, that if she didn't get out her news now Hiccup wouldn't be able to make the last minute adjustment of at least one more room.

"I'm pregnant."

"Never one for beating around the bush, were you?" Hiccup barely managed to say through the midst of all his laughing. He couldn't believe it, a dad! Beginning to barrage her with questions and mixing up all his thoughts in his joy, the father-to-be finally managed to express his excitement in one of the only was he knew she'd understand. Silencing her relieved laughs with a simple grab of the waist, Hiccup pulled in his wife, the future mother of _their child_ and kissed her with all his remaining energy.

"You didn't know?" she asked meekly, after the long and passionate display ended. Hiccup jerked his head in a way Astrid assumed to be a "no". "But when you were sleeping…" she started to explain.

Hiccup froze; it didn't bother him that she had been up to see him while he was asleep. Rather, he grew concern at what she saw. The past few nights it had become increasingly aware to him that he was fretting in his slumber. And he knew why. He didn't dwell on the ideas, thinking it was better just to push through. But the truth was, Hiccup was terrified by Astrid's recent behavior. He'd had a feeling that she had recently become pregnant, simply by the way she had a new glow surrounding her.

Ecstatic as he was, the chief was also afraid that he couldn't be who Astrid needed.

"I can't be what she needs…" he mumbled aloud, interrupting Astrid's thought. Finally hearing himself admit it made the idea seem true.

Hiccup ran from the statue, to the confused cries of his now shocked wife, and never stopped running until he found his best friend at the academy.


	4. Family

**Hope you're still enjoying, and again I love to hear your thoughts. By the way, for anyone wondering, this story will most likely have a happy ending, so don't worry!**

Hiccup found his loyal dragon, who perked at the sight of his long-time partner. It wasn't too unusual to see him, but the decrease in their flights made Toothless treat each time like a treat as opposed to when he considered it more of a privilege. Hiccup thanked the gods that his friend wouldn't question him as he climbed into the custom saddle.

Riding off into the silent night, the chief thought about everything that had happened. He never wanted to hurt Astrid, and he couldn't find a way out of doing so. If he stayed, he would definitely turn out to be a terrible father, much like he had found his father to be around his teen years. However, if he were to keep flying until he fell off the edge of the world, she wouldn't be able to understand how much better off she was.

His own childhood flashed instantly before him. No mother, essentially no father for quite a while. But he'd had Gobber. Calling to Toothless to land on the nearest island, he thought harder than he'd ever thought before. Were he to return, Astrid wouldn't have to completely rely on him. It'd be preferred, in his book, but it wouldn't be necessary. They'd have the dragons, and their family. He knew his mom would be more than pleased to have a second chance at raising a Haddock baby. He smiled in his goofy way, thinking of all the helping hands that would pitch in as soon as he and Astrid mentioned the baby. He knew he was loved.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup quickly slurred out while jumping back on Toothless' saddle. An image of his friend being harassed by tiny versions of Astrid, or even himself, flashed across his mind. It was all he could do to keep himself from falling off the confused dragon while they took off. He could do it. He would do it. For his family, and for his people.

After a long, one-sided conversation where Hiccup explained to Toothless all the things he'd be doing differently and better, they landed back at the statue. Hiccup knew Astrid was evidently still inside, as Hiccup could see Stormfly waiting confusedly for her master. Running inside, he found his wife sitting with an expression of extreme sadness. He could almost see the thoughts whirring in her head. As she looked up to him, instantly filling with anger, Hiccup stopped her with another kiss and a hurried explanation.

"Astrid I could tell you were going to have a baby and I was excited at first but then I thought that I would be a terrible father and I'm sorry but I'll do my best and I-" he spat out. He was interrupted, however by a sock in the jaw.

"_That's _for leaving me, and not telling me about your stress" she said through clenched teeth. And then with a quick peck on the cheek she added "and that's for _everything else."_

**Okay so that is the end of the current conflict, but there will be more later on to this story! Hiccup and Astrid still have to tell everyone, and they have to prep. Plus, we have to see if Hiccup does change or not, as he told Toothless. Hope you enjoyed, thanks again!**


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